


Freeze Out

by Ember_Keelty



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-04
Updated: 2011-02-04
Packaged: 2017-10-15 09:55:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/159626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ember_Keelty/pseuds/Ember_Keelty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-"Kanaya: Return to the core."  Rose gets the news.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Freeze Out

\-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] began trolling tentacleTherapist [TT] \--

GA: …  
TT: Hello to you too, Kanaya.  
TT: May I ask what aspect of my current situation has reduced you to baffled silence?  
TT: I will acknowledge there are several possibilities.  
TT: Or perhaps it is the cumulative effect, an emergent aura of breathtaking strangeness that is more than the sum of its individual oddities.  
TT: You may commence rambling at any time, Kanaya.  
GA: NOT KANAYA.  
TT: CG.  
TT: Karkat, correct?  
TT: What are you doing with my friend's account?  
GA: JEGUS SHE WAS TALKING TO YOU A LOT.  
GA: SHE HAS ALL OF THE CHAT LOGS OPEN.  
GA: LIKE SHE WAS JUST READING THEM OVER AND OVER AGAIN.  
TT: You do not have my consent to read those conversations.  
TT: I doubt that you have hers, either.  
TT: If need be, I can enforce our privacy. Do not make me do that.  
GA: YEAH, LIKE I REALLY WANT TO SUBJECT MYSELF TO ANY MORE OF YOUR SNARKY HORSESHIT THAN I HAVE TO.  
GA: CALM DOWN, I'M CLOSING THEM OUT RIGHT NOW.  
TT: Yes, I definitely know you well enough to trust you are doing just that.  
TT: All the same, I would prefer that you put Kanaya back on.  
GA: FUCK YOU SIDEWAYS.  
GA: WAIT, NO, THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR.  
GA: I'M SORRY. CAN WE STRIKE THAT FROM THE RECORD AND START OVER?  
TT: Start over with what, precisely?  
GA: FUCK.  
GA: OKAY, LOOK, I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU HUMANS WOULD NORMALLY DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS.  
GA: YOU DON'T CULL THE WEAK. YOU HAVE ADULTS WHO TAKE CARE OF YOU INSTEAD OF TRYING TO KILL YOU.  
GA: ALL IN ALL, YOU'RE DISGUSTINGLY SHELTERED.  
GA: SO THIS IS PROBABLY GOING TO COME OFF AS REALLY CULTURALLY INSENSITIVE, BUT RIGHT NOW I COULD NOT GIVE LESS OF A FUCK ABOUT THAT.  
GA: KANAYA IS DEAD.  
GA: ERIDAN KILLED HER.  
GA: I THINK SHE WOULD WANT YOU TO KNOW. 

**== >Rose: Process.**

It's a trick. Karkat is a troll, after all. The trolls have been trying to get under your skin for the past six months. They've never been this brutally good at it, but still, it might be a trick.

It also might not be.

TT: I see.  
GA: YOU SEE.  
GA: THAT'S YOUR RESPONSE.  
GA: YOU PERCEIVE WITH YOUR PALE HUMAN OCULAR ORBS THAT YOUR "FRIEND" HAS BEEN MURDERED BY A PSYCHOTIC HIPSTER WIZARD TRAITOR.  
GA: NO, FUCK YOU, YOU DON'T SEE ANYTHING.  
GA: I'M IN THE ROOM WITH THE BODY. I SEE  
GA: I SEE WAY TOO MUCH, I'LL TELL YOU THAT.  
GA: DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH SHE CARED ABOUT YOU?  
GA: I THOUGHT THERE WAS A CHANCE YOU WOULD FEEL THE SAME WAY.  
GA: MAYBE THAT'S SELFISH, BUT, AGAIN, I DON'T REALLY GIVE A FUCK RIGHT NOW.  
GA: THE ONLY OTHER PEOPLE WHO WERE CLOSE TO HER ARE DEAD OR VRISKA.  
TT: Are you quite done?  
GA: WOAH HEY WAIT.  
GA: WHEN DID YOU START CRYING?  
TT: Oh, I'm not crying.  
TT: Didn't you know? Our pale human ocular orbs must periodically self-lubricate to remain functional.  
TT: They are very delicate organs, undoubtedly inferior to those of your species.  
GA: WOW THAT IS SUCH COMPLETE BULLSHIT IT'S LIKE YOU AREN'T EVEN TRYING.  
TT: Yes, it's almost as though I was displaying hostility through obvious insincerity rather than actually attempting to deceive you.  
GA: FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND YOU DISPLAY PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING THROUGH INSINCERITY.  
GA: IT'S NOT LIKE I HAVE SPECIAL ALIEN SENSES FINELY ATTUNED TO PICKING OUT ONE FLAVOR OF SARCASM FROM THE OTHERS.  
GA: FUCK, THIS WOULD GIVE EVEN TEREZI A HEADACHE, AND SHE TASTES LIES.  
TT: Meanwhile you, evidently, display everything through aggression.  
TT: I am sorry for your loss, but I'm not in the mood to play therapist right now.

grimAuxiliatrix's [GA'S] computer exploded.

**== >Rose: Cry it out.**

You don't have time for that.

This is stupid. You haven't shed one tear for the deaths of everyone on Earth aside from your friends and their families, and here you are just barely able to compose yourself over someone who wasn't even human. Just because you've spoken more with her than you ever had with anyone other than John and Jade and Dave—

No, even that's not right. Aside from that one chat in December, you've only been talking with Kanaya for less than a day. Why does it feel like so much longer?

\-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] began trolling tentacleTherapist [TT] \--

GA: Rose Whats The Matter

**== >Rose: Attempt to maintain ice queen demeanor.**

TT: Oh, thank God.

Your attempt is a resounding failure.

TT: I am going to kill Karkat.  
GA: What  
GA: No  
GA: Please Dont Do That  
GA: I Know I Said I Would Not Attempt To Pacify You But There Is A Limit  
TT: Would you be less opposed to the idea if I informed you he is the reason for your erstwhile computer's untimely demise?  
GA: What Are You Talking About  
GA: My Computer Is Perfectly Inviolate  
TT: That's odd.  
TT: I suppose he could have somehow obtained access to your account, or  
TT: …  
GA: …  
GA: ???  
TT: Kanaya, this is very important. Has anyone else's computer exploded recently?  
GA: Yes  
GA: Eridans  
GA: And Then He Hassled Me Until I Made Him That Wand  
GA: After Which You And I Engaged In A Sardonicism Off  
GA: And While I Could Never Hope To Beat You At Such A Contest  
GA: As You Are Simply The Best There Is  
GA: You Did Say I Was Doing Well  
GA: Remember  
TT: That really meant a lot to you, didn't it?  
TT: I never realized.  
GA: Um  
GA: Are We Being Sincere Or Ironic Right Now  
GA: I Cant Tell And This Is A Difficult Topic For Me To Discourse On  
GA: For Reasons That You Probably Wont Understand  
TT: Sincere.  
GA: In That Case Yes It Meant A Great Deal To Me  
GA: Many Things You Say Mean A Great Deal To Me  
GA: Or Is That A Little Too Sincere  
TT: A little.  
GA: Oh  
GA: Sorry  
TT: It's fine.

**== >Rose: Consider the consequences of what you are about to do.**

There's nothing to consider. Kanaya is your friend. You've splintered a timeline and doomed yourself in it to save your friends before, and you see no reason not to do it again.

You are a little worried about the fact that in that timeline the trolls apparently could not contact you. That doesn't necessarily mean you can only interact with them in the alpha timeline, but you don't like the implications if it does. You'll have to be very careful how much you tell her; the last thing you want right now is to wind up stabilizing a time loop.

TT: Eridan has a new weapon, correct?  
TT: You gave it to him?  
GA: Thats Right  
TT: I can't suggest you try to get it back.  
TT: That could be the trigger.  
TT: Or I could be reading this wrong, and the wand has nothing to do with it.  
TT: I don't have enough information.  
TT: Why did I hang up on Karkat? If I'm going to fix this, I need information.  
GA: What Are You Talking About  
TT: Where is Eridan right now?  
GA: I Don't Know  
GA: Somewhere In The Labyrinthine Depths Of The Veil I Would Imagine  
GA: He Has Not Been Around Much Since You Blew Up His Terminal  
TT: You need to stay away from him.  
TT: That's the only thing that has more of a chance of working than of backfiring horribly.  
GA: I Dont Understand  
GA: Are We Playing That Game Again  
GA: The One Where We Pretend That Eridan Is A Dangerous White Magician And Not Comically Inept At Everything  
TT: It isn't a game. This is serious advice.  
TT: Do not speak to him.  
TT: Do not be in the same room as him.  
TT: Do not turn your back on him.  
GA: Ugh  
GA: Rose Im Sorry But I Cant Do This Anymore  
GA: Do You Comprehend That This Is Our Last Opportunity For Conversation Before Your Disappearance  
GA: Ive Tried To Stop It  
GA: Ive Tried To Be At Peace With It And Just Enjoy Getting To Know You While I Could  
GA: But It Hurts  
GA: It Hurts So Much And I Cant Do It Anymore I Cant  
TT: Kanaya.  
GA: Dont  
GA: Dont Say Im Rambling  
GA: You Are The One Whos Been Rambling  
GA: We Have So Little Time Left And You Want To Spend It On Setting Up Some Elaborate Joke About Karkat And Eridan  
GA: Is This All Just So You Wont Have To Tell Me Why You Were Crying  
GA: Do You Really Find Me That Exasperating  
TT: Kanaya, stand back.  
GA: What  
TT: Step away from the computer and stand back.  
TT: It occurs to me there is one thing I can do that is guaranteed to make a difference, though whether it will turn out to be a positive one is anyone's guess.  
TT: Are you clear?  
TT: …  
TT: Good. 

Paradox error: grimAuxiliatrix's [GA'S] computer failed to explode.

TT: Oh fuck.  
GA: What  
GA: Why Would You  
GA: No Dont Answer That  
GA: Were Out Of Time  
GA: Answer This Instead  
GA: Have You Figured Out Why The Viewport Goes Black  
TT: No.  
TT: Wait.  
TT: Actually, yes. I think I just did.  
GA: Tell Me  
TT: Kanaya, you have been a good friend.  
TT: I don't think I could ever do what you've done for me.  
TT: In fact, I am absolutely certain I couldn't.  
TT: Please don't worry about me. I promise I'll be fine.  
GA: Will I Ever See You Again  
TT: I don't think so.  
GA: Okay  
GA: This Is A Difficult Topic For Me To Broach  
GA: For Reasons That I Can Only Assume Are Glaringly Obvious  
GA: But If This Is The Last Chance Then It Needs To Be Said  
TT: …  
GA: Rose  
GA: I Am Aware That We Have Not Had The Opportunity To Know Each Other For Very Long  
GA: But  
TT: jade is pestering me i have to go bye

\-- tentacleTherapist [TT] blocked grimAuxiliatrix [GA] \--

**== >Rose: Collect your composure.**

Oh dear God there was absolutely no way you were letting her say that.

Actually, though, you weren't lying. Jade wants to talk, and since it's Jade it's probably about something important. That's just fine for your purposes; you need to get your head back in the game as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, you are perfectly capable of typing and casting magic at the same time. An anti-scrying spell is easy; it's one of the first things you learned as a Seer, though up until now you never thought it would be of much use.

You hesitate briefly to consider what might happen if you simply decided not to go through with it. Possibly something else would come along and create the same effect. Possibly you would succeed in splitting the timeline, though probably you would end up in a doomed one. Kanaya would be able to contact you then, unless the Trolls got cut off from you again like they did when John and Jade died, and she also would probably still be doomed. None of those possibilities are in any way appealing to you.

**== >Rose: Vanish.**

It begins to dawn on you that allowing yourself to get invested in other people almost always proves to be a colossal waste of time.


End file.
